Ddonggae, a slang meaning mutt or mongrel in Korean, is what everyone calls Chol-min (Jung Woo-sung), a charming slacker of a character who sometimes doesn’t seem like he’s quite all there. With his sleepy eyes and wild hair, Ddonggae wanders around town like a sulky hound dog in search of his master.

He might seem a bit slow, but there’s one thing Ddonggae does better than anyone around. Like a superhero who doesn’t seem quite aware of the powers he possesses, Ddonggae transforms into a lightning-quick fighter when threatened. Our hero is soon joined by other warriors/losers of the neighborhood, to form a parallel-universe Justice League.

The premise may sound like that of the run-of-the-mill gangster comedy, but the film is more complex than that. Though full of laugh-out-loud funny scenes, the humor never feels overly cardboard or slapstick. And the use of the Kyongsang Province dialect and slang, exploited for easy laughs in other comedies, feels real in the hands of Kwak, a Pusan native.

At its best, the film creatively combines a rural slice-of-life tale and an abject action adventure. There’s also a genuine warmth to the film, especially in its portrayal of life in the small town, and the relationship of Ddonggae and with his family: his widowed father, the town’s police chief (Kim Kab-su), and Jong-ae (Um Ji-won), a young orphan taken in by his father.